Jimmy Butler's mission to return to the Warriors: 'I felt I let them down' — SkimNews
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- Jimmy Butler tore his right ACL eight months ago against Miami when Davion Mitchell slid under him on a catch, prompting a scream that silenced the arena; Stephen Curry rushed to Butler's side and stood over him as he lay face-down on the hardwood.
- Before the injury, the Warriors went 11-4 across their final 15 games with Butler averaging 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, capped by a 32-point, 14-of-22 shooting performance against the eventual-champion New York Knicks.
- GM Mike Dunleavy, who played alongside Butler in Chicago, pushed hardest for the February 2025 trade and delivered a two-year, $111 million extension; the Warriors have since declined to include Butler in offseason discussions for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis or Jaylen Brown, team sources said.
- After Butler went down, the Warriors finished 12-26 and faded from the playoff picture; this season they are projected as a lottery-bound team with roughly $69 million in starting wings sidelined between Butler and the injured Moses Moody.
- Moses Moody ruptured his left patellar tendon in late March and is expected back in the December-to-January window; Butler is targeting a January-to-February return and becomes extension-eligible on Feb. 6 — a deadline both he and the franchise know but won't publicly name.
- Butler told ESPN he has repeatedly stated his desire to retire with Golden State but insisted he pays no attention to his contract situation, framing his focus on leadership and helping the team compete once he returns.
- Steve Kerr framed the season as a foundation-laying exercise: build momentum early so Butler can return into a team positioned to make noise in the final months of the Curry era, a window Dunleavy protected by preserving up to nearly $60 million in 2026 cap space.
Why it matters: The Warriors wagered their championship window on Butler, but with him sidelined until January or February and the team projected as a lottery team in his absence, his return directly determines whether the Curry era has one more legitimate playoff run in it. The Feb. 6 extension-eligibility date ties his ACL rehab and his next contract to the same narrow window, raising the stakes on every minute he plays before free agency.
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